The lecture was a part of the “Why Faith” series, with Payne discussing evidence of faith in the modern age.
His lecture focused on evidence within the cell, which explained the reason why life was created through intelligent design. He broke down the processes within the cell that lead to reproduction of DNA. Using diagrams to show the functions in cells that use proteins and nucleic acid to create DNA, he said there are signatures within the cell that could not be created without intelligent design.
“Origin of life scientists say that they are in worse shape than ever,” he said. “We are further away from discovering the origin of life than we have ever been, by far.”
Payne used evidence from the human genome to support his point and said there are signals within the genetic code that prove the existence of a designer, quoting well-known scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Francis Crick, Jonathan Wells and Francis Collins. He said all proteins in all living things are made up of only 20 commonly occurring amino acids.
“A designer designed the system of living things to interplay in a way that they would all be made from the same chemistry,” Payne said.
Though Payne said he is a firm believer in the theory of intelligent design, he said there is always more to be learned about the origins of life.
“Every day we learn something new about DNA that we didn’t know yesterday,” he said. “There will always be things that we don’t have any answers for, whether you’re an intelligent design theorist or an evolutionist.”
Lacy Lannom, a senior majoring in nursing, said she was drawn to the event because she wanted to know more about her faith from a biological perspective.
“It was interesting to hear a scientific basis for Christianity,” Lannom said.
Catie Cook, a junior majoring in communicative disorders, said she attended the event in to learn more about the potential scientific reasons behind her faith.
“I really wanted to come to get an idea of, as a Christian, if someone who is atheist came up to me and asked me about my faith, what I would say to explain why I believe what I believe,” Cook said.
At the end of his lecture, Payne said he encourages attendees to continue to pursue knowledge and understand that there is always more to learn.
“I hope that what I’ve done tonight is tease you enough so that you want to dig in,” Payne said. “Don’t you believe anything because I said it. You go dig for yourself.”
